As an asthma sufferer myself, I can draw upon my own pain patterns and muscles weaknesses to derive a few conclusions. My patients often display the "inhalation posture". The elevated shoulders, excessive straight and broad upper back are the primary signs. They are stuck in this inhaling stance, as they are constantly trying to take in more air. Their bodies don't realize that what they really need is to exhale more.
Weaknesses in the internal and external oblique muscles are a good place to start. These muscles are key for forced expiration, so it is good to fire these muscles up before doing aerobic exercise. Focusing on forced expiration and trying to prolong this phase will keep you going longer than the gasping for air on the inhale. In fact, whatever core/abdominal exercise you like can be made much more effective just by following this pattern: exhale fully and forcefully on the exertion part of the exercise. For example, during a "crunch" exercise, lifting your upper body up is the "exertion" phase. Prolonging this part of the exercise and fully exhaling will really activate these muscles.
This link shows another excellent core exercise that is also easy on your spine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fwjGJ2MDsA
(I am not affiliated with Aaron Swanson, but this video saved me the trouble of doing one myself. Thanks Aaron!)
Lastly it is apparent to me that many people that have not done any cardiovascular exercise in a long time have the weakest core muscles. People who run regularly typically have fair core strength. Sprinters will typically have the strongest. High intensity training will make you forcefully inhale and exhale. This does not mean that couch potatoes should immediately take up sprinting for exercise. It is always best to ease into it.
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